The Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 (SFOA, 2017) regulates the use and retailing of tobacco and vapour products as well as the use of cannabis in workplaces and public places. The SFOA, 2017 regulates the sale, supply, display and promotion of tobacco and vapour products. As well, it regulates where smoking of tobacco or cannabis and vaping of any substance is prohibited. The outdoor perimeter of certain spaces that must remain smoke-free and vape-free has been expanded under the SFOA, 2017.
The SFOA, 2017 regulates smoking and vaping, including the smoking and vaping of medical and recreational cannabis, as follows:
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited inside workplaces and public places, including work vehicles, even when the premises is closed and the vehicle not being operated.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited indoors and on private and public school property, and within 20 metres of the grounds.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in an outdoor shelter that has more than two walls and a roof if the public or employees are invited to use it (for example, a bus shelter or workplace smoking shelter).
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in bars and restaurants and on bar and restaurant patios and within nine metres of public areas of those locations.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited inside a car or other motor vehicle with anyone under 16 years of age (cannabis use is banned at all times in a vehicle or boat being driven by or under someone's care of control).
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited indoors and on the grounds of public or private hospital property, psychiatric facility grounds, inside residential care facilities (including long-term care homes, retirement homes that provide care, provincially funded supportive housing residences), and within 9 metres of any entrance or exit of a public or private hospital, psychiatric facility, long-term care home, or independent health facility.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited inside community recreational facilities and within 20 metres of the grounds.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited where home health care workers work.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in certain veterans' and psychiatric facilities and residential hospices.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in the entire premises of any child care centre or place that provides an early years program or service including residences where home child care is provided even if children are not present. This includes any outdoor spaces that children use.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in the common indoor areas of multi-unit residences including condos, apartment buildings, and college and university residences. Examples of indoor common areas include: elevators, stairwells, hallways, parking garages, laundry facilities, lobbies, exercise areas, party or entertainment rooms.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in hotels, motels, and inns (unless management has designated certain fully enclosed guest room(s) for smoking and/or vaping).
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in the reserved seating area of outdoor sports arenas or entertainment venues.
- Employers, business owners, and public places must post provincial No Smoking and No Vaping signage at their premises including at entrances, exits, washrooms, and in work vehicles. These signs are available at no cost from the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
Note: If you are an Indigenous person and live in a hospital, psychiatric facility, long-term care home, home for special care, community home for opportunity, or independent health facility, you may request an indoor area to use tobacco for traditional Indigenous cultural or spiritual purposes.
The SFOA, 2017 regulates retailing of tobacco and vapour products; please see general retailer information and the guide for retailers.
Fact Sheets
There are a number of fact sheets available with information on how the SFOA, 2017 affects the following:
Campuses - Child Care Centres - Community Recreational Facilities - Duty Free Retailers - Enclosed Public Places - Enclosed Workplaces - Flavoured Tobacco - Government Buildings - Home Health Care - Hospices - Hospitals - Hotels, Motels and Inns - Indigenous Persons - Manufacturers (Tobacco) - Manufacturers (Vapour) - Motor Vehicles - Multi-Unit Residences - Playgrounds - Residential Care Facilities - Restaurants and Bars - Retailers - Schools - Specialty Vape Stores - Sporting Areas - Tobacconists - Waterpipe
If you would like any of the above fact sheets, please contact Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520.
In the community, the health unit's tobacco enforcement officers are responsible for enforcing compliance of all indoor and outdoor places designated 100% smoke and vape-free under the SFOA, 2017. They are also responsible for the inspection and enforcement of all tobacco and vapour product retailers for compliance with the laws governing the sale, display and promotion of tobacco and vapour (vape) products including specialty vape stores and tobacconists.
To register a complaint about a workplace or public place not in compliance with the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, or a store that is selling tobacco or vapour products to youth under 19 years of age, call or email Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 and a tobacco enforcement officer will follow up.
